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νηστεία

nēsteía

G3521 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

The state or practice of abstaining from food, most often for a set period and sometimes as part of a religious ritual or observance. In Hellenistic and Jewish-Greek contexts, can refer both to individual or collective acts of refraining from eating, whether voluntary (as in spiritual discipline or repentance) or prescribed (such as set communal fasts). Other contextual senses can include mourning or penitence expressed through abstinence.

Semantic Range

fast, fasting, abstinence from food, period of going without food for religious or ritual reasons, state of being without food (voluntarily or prescribed), act of penitence or seeking favor through abstention

Root / Etymology

From the verb νηστεύω ('to fast'), itself formed from νῆ (a negative particle, 'not') and ἐσθίω ('to eat'), literally 'not eating.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

νηστεία appears in both non-Jewish and Jewish-Greek literature from the Hellenistic period onward. In classical Greek, νηστεία can simply denote going without food, whether from necessity or choice. In Jewish-Greek and early Christian contexts (Septuagint, New Testament), the term is most often employed to refer to ritual fasting, either for penitence or seeking divine favor, or in fulfillment of religious law (such as the Day of Atonement 'fast'). In the New Testament, νηστεία may denote private discipline or community observances. English translations often simply render νηστεία as 'fast' or 'fasting'; however, this can obscure distinctions between prescribed annual fasts (e.g., Yom Kippur) and other periods of abstinence. It is distinct from σιτία, the general term for food or eating, highlighting the deliberate aspect of the practice. In Greco-Roman contexts, fasting could have ascetic or philosophical significance as well.

Translation Consistency

primary "fast" 3 occurrences

"Fast" is the most natural, concise English rendering that covers the typical noun sense (a fast, fasting) and the related verb sense (to fast). It matches the SILEX range—individual or communal abstaining from food for religious, penitential, or ritual reasons—and aligns with the attested P2 forms (fast, fasting, fastings) while remaining simple and consistent for all inflections.

Alternatives (4 occurrences):
"fastings" (4x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from νηστεύω; abstinence (from lack of food, or voluntary and religious); specially, the fast of the Day of Atonement:-- fast(-ing).

Root Family

νηστεία (nēsteia) — not eating, abstaining from food, fasting

Root νηστε- not eating, abstaining from food

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G3521-02 νηστείαις nesteiais N DAT F PL fastings fastings fastings 3
G3521-01 νηστείᾳ nesteia N DAT F SG fasting in fasting fasting 2
G3521-04 νηστειῶν nesteion N GEN F PL fasting of fastings fastings 1
G3521-03 νηστείαν nesteian N ACC F SG fast a fast fast 1

Occurrences in Scripture

7 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G3521-01 Matthew 17:21 νηστείᾳ nesteia N DAT F SG fasting in fasting fasting
G3521-01 Mark 9:29 νηστείᾳ nesteia N DAT F SG fasting in fasting fasting
G3521-02 Luke 2:37 νηστείαις nesteiais N DAT F PL fastings fastings fastings
G3521-04 Acts 14:23 νηστειῶν nesteion N GEN F PL fasting of fastings fastings
G3521-03 Acts 27:9 νηστείαν nesteian N ACC F SG fast a fast fast
G3521-02 2 Corinthians 6:5 νηστείαις nesteiais N DAT F PL fastings fastings fastings
G3521-02 2 Corinthians 11:27 νηστείαις nesteiais N DAT F PL fastings fastings fastings
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